For a lot of the time being a Barnsley fan meanders around pretty uneventfully there's little expectation that you will win anything (about a 100 years between trophies..) and not much deviation in league position give or than an occasional spa break in League 1 (or Division 3 in old money). So a lot of the focus is on the players. It's players that we remember. The players that sharpen our focus we love them and sometimes hate them. I started supporting us in the late 70s when heroes at Oakwell were as common as teenage pregnancies in Kendray. Glavin, Banks, McCarthy, Aylott, Billy Ronson (ok maybe not Billy Ronson). The Clarke/Hunter glory years where we we woke from a long depression and played fantastic football vibrant football that made you feel good to be alive. Along with a lot of other things the miners strike and the ensuing impoverishment of our area stopped progress. Lean lean lean years and unsurprisingly the heroes were fewer and further between. One player came with a reputation for trouble and stayed And stayed bestowing greatness all around him. Paul Futcher the blonde God of Oakwell. Paul had many firsts. First £100,000 17 year old, with his brother Ron the first twins to play in the first division and 10 years later the first and only twins to play at Oakwell. An under 21 international who trained with the full Squad Paul was going to be the next big thing. Then a big money transfer to Man City like so many before and after him stopped his progress. Transfers to Oldham and Derby didn't really work out with the then Derby manager allegedly telling him not to come back if he didn't sign for us. Signed by the terminally underrated Bobby Collins knowing Paul's character he probably enjoyed the 5-1 hammering of Derby a couple of days after he signed. There were still flashes of temper against those off the pitch. A stand off with Allan Clarke about money a flirtation with the player coach job at Scarborough. But in dank days at Oakwell he stood head and shoulders above his teammates a perfectionist on the pitch who led by quiet example. To this day whenever I see a cultured ball playing centre half I described them as Futcheresque. When John Stones over egged the pudding playing for England a few weeks ago I thought to myself Futcher would never have done that. Paul was never a fast player but could rarely be beaten for pace he out thought the opposition anticipating where they would run and move. The best player I've ever seen do that on a regular basis. He would always look to move the ball from the back and rarely resorted to any sort of big boot or felt the need to foul. I used to think that he and Ron were the result of some experiment conducted in Cold War Eastern Europe that had gone sadly or gladly for us wrong. Perfectly imperfect. A genius whose flaws kept him gracing the Oakwell turf rather than moving onwards and upwards like his talent deserved. A footballer who never scored but who scored some spectacular own goals including one from just inside his own half that was a perfect chip over his own keeper. There are players I feel honoured to watch that make me remember why I support our small town club Paul is high in that list. If I ever construct one of those best team I've seen things that we all do from time to time Paul is always in it. A sad day a sad loss A football hero in dark times.
As you have expressed very eloquently, Paul Futcher was a flawed genius. A mixture of the sublime and the ridiculous. I remember him for all the reasons you have stated, and I remember him for his spectacular losses of temper. A volcano that could explode without warning and for no obviously discernible reason. Someone who could appear quite in control at one moment, and spectacularly out of control the next. It would not have been a surprise if he had taken a swing at the ref on his way to the tunnel, such were his tantrums. But you are right. For all the frustrations of watching him play, several pages ahead of the rest of the players, and with the constant simmering danger of him having first use of the bath, we always welcomed him back with open arms. He was that good. RIP Paul Futcher.
Lovely stuff that mate, I started attending regularly as a young 'un in the mid 80s and Futch was a class above anybody else we had on the pitch, he quickly became my favourite player because of how he played the game ,calm ,collected and generally just cool as **** and he could easily pick a player out with a pass from 30/40 yards away. Nar then I don't know if I've imagined this but the closest I ever saw him getting a goal was against ipswich at home in 87, I've convinced myself that I saw him smash a 35 yard shot against the bar in a 2. 1 victory for the reds, R.I.P Futch, sithi.
Yes I think I remember that shot against Ipswich. I also started watching as a young Un in the mid-80s. I also remember that shot against Everton in the cup which Southall tipped away as another close moment to a Futch goal. RIP to a true Barnsley legend who was a pleasure to watch. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Well said that man. Loved watching Futch, he was never hurried never hassled and never wound up by an opponent. All the stranger then that he (and his brother) had problems off the field with temperament. Don't know if it was Paul or Ron but didn't one one of them kick a door in after some sort of disagreementt? A sad loss.
I can't really add anything to this. One of my all time favourite players, probably the best defender I've ever seen at Oakwell. A legend.
Terribly sad news. Genuinely one the greatest players to represent us. I trust the club will remember him tomorrow evening.
I do remember one Tuesday night, we were losing at half-time and as the players came off the pitch, one bloke stood at the railings, effing and blinding at them as they came off. Futcher walked past him and said 'Oh piss off, will you?' The bloke turned around to the crowd aghast, saying 'Did you hear that? Did you hear that?' like he didn't deserve it. Anyway, Paul, very sorry to see you go. Thanks for not having enough pace, because if you had had then you wouldn't have played for us all those years. We were lucky to have you.
One of my first heroes. I actually thought all defenders must be like Paul Futcher when I first started watching us. How wrong I was. Mel Machin releasing him wasa huge error in my opinion, despite the emergence of Tiler and Taggart.
R.I.P a true legend. One of my all time favourites. Never forgot him chipping the ball over Clive Baker from the half way line! Ha ha... and this...
Back when hair styles were hair styles My earliest memory of a football match was that own goal, and telling the staff of WH Smiths in tarn where my mum worked about it in wide-eyed wonder
Everything Paul did had a touch of class, even his mistakes! He played alongside some excellent players in the 1980's (Glavin, Gray, Geddis, May, Agnew, Thomas, Walsh, Hirst, Owen, Beresford, Currie, Cooper, Taggart, Tiler, Smith, for example). But his level of consistency was remarkable. The number of times a speedy striker fancied himself in a one on one with Futch, only to lose out every time because of Paul's outstanding reading of the game. Paul will be rightly remembered for years to come with Barnsley fans lucky enough to see him play, both in our memories and our hearts. Sleep well, Paul, you're no longer in any pain. You're a true Barnsley legend.
I was hoping to see Futch's shot vs Everton in the cup. Neville Southall who then was 1 of the top keepers in the country managed to top it over the bar. It would've been a goal against an average keeper